Independence Day (Somalia)

Independence Day

Observed by Somalia
Type National
Significance Establishment of the Somali Republic
Celebrations Parades and concerts
Date July 1
Next time 1 July 2015
Frequency annual

The Independence Day of Somalia is a national holiday observed annually in Somalia on July 1. The date celebrates the union of the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) and the State of Somaliland (the former British Somaliland) on July 1, 1960, which formed the Somali Republic (Somalia). A government was subsequently formed by Abdullahi Issa and other members of the trusteeship and protectorate governments, with Haji Bashir Ismail Yusuf as President of the Somali National Assembly, Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as President of the Somali Republic, and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as Prime Minister. On 20 July 1961 and through a popular referendum, the people of Somalia ratified a new constitution, which was first drafted in 1960.[1]

Notes

  1. The Illustrated Library of The World and Its Peoples: Africa, North and East, Greystone Press: 1967, p. 338

References